Soft tissue damage, particularly tendon rupture such as the Achilles tendon, is typically a debilitating event. Surgical repair of a ruptured tendon generally requires the torn or ripped ends of the tendon, which are separated from one another, to be coapted by passing one or more sutures through each damaged end. Each of the torn ends are drawn towards one another by tightening of the sutures to restore the connecting muscles and tendon to their original lengths.
However, accessing the damaged tissue generally requires relatively large incisions or multiple smaller incisions for effecting adequate purchase and sufficient suturing of the damaged tendon to ensure proper healing of the tendon. Yet relatively large incisions or multiple incisions also increase the likelihood of infections and complications occurring.
Moreover, minimally invasive devices which may be inserted through relatively smaller incisions are generally limited in their application for repairing particular tissue regions. For instance, minimally invasive surgical instruments may enable a surgeon to pass sutures through tissue with the instruments introduced through relatively small incisions; however, these instruments are limited in their ability to pass multiple sutures through non-supported tissue structures in an efficacious manner.
Moreover, may such devices are insufficient in supporting tissue structures such as ruptured or torn tendons for minimally invasive surgical repair. Thus, tissue repair systems which are able to pass one or more sutures in a minimally invasive manner into tissue structures, such as the Achilles tendons, which are difficult to secure and manipulate are highly desirable.